Saturday, April 2, 2011

A Small Look on Art

I once read an essay that its main idea was that with the advent of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety pills culture has been ruined, because the great art and literature was born out of depression, and without depression there is no great culture. I cannot recall the name of that say essay right now, but if any of you know it please do tell.
It is true that anti-depressants make you stop being depressed. They don't remove your capacity to think and feel as a human being though. They're prescribed too much and too often, I find that a truth easily swallowed.
The other thrust of the argument I dislike is that creativity or genius comes from depression. I think if anything my favorite works were always the ones which to me depicted the heights of many or all of the emotions we as humans experience. To say that great culture comes from depressed artists is an insincere look at art, and it denies the necessity of emotional intelligence for development of mature works. I hate it when people try to place restrictions on artists. Oh, to write you have to be depressed. Artists have to be poor. Musicians have to smoke pot or be addicted to heroin. You have to be an alcoholic, you have to see someone die. These are all meaningless, people should just stop trying to define an artist by how he is or acts in everyday life.

27 comments:

I understand what you mean; however, history just points to most artists going through their prime when they are emotionally down the gutter. Of course, it doesn't prove that this is the true and only way to become a good artists, but it just happens to be that that is the way it's been.

I don't think you can deny that much great art, especially writing, has come from depressed alcoholics or heroin users. There's more motivation there when there are problems in one's life. Just like problems with society create magnificent art and commentary.

Creation is such an open ended platform that I can't imagine depression being required. A lot of great art can be born from love, or madness or any other extreme emotion. But I agree when they say that emotion is important to the creation process.